App Development for Apple Watch.

06 Sep App Development for Apple Watch.

Expected to hit the market after the start of 2015, the Apple Watch takes the line of Apple mobile devices into the realm of wearable technology like Google Glass. Like the existing iPhone, this device allows individual developers to create apps that expand its capabilities in exciting new ways beyond those provided by the manufacturer. To get an idea of how entrepreneurs can write apps for this gadget, it helps to know what its software requirements are and what physical features it possesses that can be tapped into.

Software Demands
One unique and important feature of the Apple Watch is that it’s not meant to operate as a standalone device. It can perform quite a few tasks on its own, but its primary mission is to work as an easily-to-access extension of the iPhone. Because of this quality and its small size, it will use a distinct operating system called Watch OS instead of the iOS system used by the iPhone. Due to this fact, a software development kit called WatchKit will be provided shortly after the watch itself is released. What’s interesting in this set-up is that to get full use of the Apple Watch, apps will have to be written separately for the watch and the iPhone that mesh together.Bells And Whistles
With regards to the watch, it contains a multitude of capabilities that developers can access for both predictable and as-yet unimagined apps. Like the iPhone, it has a touch screen, vibrator, speaker, microphone, gyroscope, accelerometer, and Bluetooth compatibility. In order to facilitate easy credit or debit card purchases, it has near field communications or NFC. This allows payments to be made by simply waving the watch past a compatible RFID-type reader. In addition, since one of its intended functions is to provide health information, it possesses four skin-contact sensors that rely on LED lights and photodiodes to perceive the wearer’s pulse rate. Camera and GPS capabilities can be accessed through the iPhone.Dream On
Since the watch has only recently been announced, not all the details have been revealed concerning WatchKit or the programming environment it’ll possess. In all likelihood, Objective C will serve as the language for this device’s apps as it has for all previous ones. Given both the unique features of the Apple Watch and its role as an iPhone satellite, there’s practically an infinite number of opportunities for the inventive app designer.